What are the best strategies for building relationships with hard-to-reach stakeholders?

One of the first aspects that comes to mind is what’s in it for them or why should they give you their time. I think very important are these two aspects - understanding their pain areas or needs, and secondly the value you can bring to them. Conduct thorough research to understand their interests / challenges and use this info to tailor your communication and offer specific value that aligns with their priorities. Additionally - leverage your network to create opportunities for direct interaction. Demonstrate expertise - as an authoritative / credible source in your field without expecting immediate returns. Effective and respectful communication - to keep you on their radar. Need to be patient in building the relationship.

The defining characteristic of our times is that it's never been easier to reach stakeholders - even the "hard to reach" ! Humanity has never been as connected as we are today - anybody can be reached whether by sector, geography, ethnicity, age, gender, social preferences, etc etc.

Any relationship is an interdependent one. If the stakeholders are playing hard to get, then stakeholders don't realise that. In my view first focus on getting them to realise the interpdepence and then work on SWANs and OWANs. Empathy also plays a key role in stakeholder management.

Here are some additional tips: Find a common goal. Having a shared goal can help to align the stakeholder's interests with your own. Use technology to stay connected. Stay in touch with the stakeholder through email, phone calls, or social media. Build relationships with the stakeholder's network. Get to know the people who are important to the stakeholder. Be prepared to compromise. You may not always get everything you want, but you should be willing to compromise to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Celebrate successes. When you achieve a success with the stakeholder, take the time to celebrate it. This will help to reinforce the positive relationship you have built.

To identify hard-to-reach stakeholders inclusively, utilize a stakeholder mapping tool with a DEIA lens. This involves recognizing diverse groups, understanding their unique perspectives, and categorizing them based on interest and influence. Tailor communication and engagement strategies to address their specific needs and priorities, ensuring accessibility and cultural sensitivity in all interactions. This approach promotes equitable representation and encourages meaningful participation as people and organizations continue on their journey from, "Compliance to Community'™ #WeNotMe

In policy files, this is even possible if what you want to achieves differs from your stakeholders’ views - as long as you are transparent about where you are coming from and have a case with compelling arguments. You might change stakeholders’ mind. But: Choose your battle! Don’t go for those were you know dogmatism is pre-dominant anyway. At least not with the objective to change those minds (it still might make sense for other objectives, though).

To mitigate bias in building personas, use diverse data sources, involve varied team members in creation, regularly update personas with new insights, and avoid stereotypes by focusing on specific behaviors and needs rather than demographic assumptions. Best strategies for engaging hard-to-reach stakeholders include identifying and understanding their unique needs, using inclusive and culturally sensitive communication, building trust through consistent engagement, and ensuring feedback is actively sought and incorporated into decision-making processes. Utilizing these strategies will lead to a more representative stakeholder profile as people and organizations move from, 'Compliance to Community'™ #WeNotMe

Your stakeholders represent a function, a team, an organisational perspective - they're not just contributing their individual expertise. So pay attention to organisational context and how it aligns with the overall objective and context, understanding their context will go a long way in aligning everyone's goals.

Motivations are key, but so is alignment. Know what a stakeholder wants from you, or your project is a huge advantage, but being able to align it with your own motivations and research will develop a much stronger relationship longer-term. It will create a sense of joint-venture and partnership more than a one-off-sale.

Understanding the needs and motivations of hard-to-reach stakeholders is like figuring out what makes a friend tick. It's about getting into their shoes and seeing things from their angle. Start by asking yourself: What do they really care about? What keeps them up at night? This might involve a bit of detective work – reviewing their past decisions, current interests, and even their challenges. Once you have a handle on their priorities, tailor your approach to align with their goals. It's like finding a common tune in different music genres. Remember, it's not just about the business side of things; personal values and motivations play a big role too.

This is by far an important step. Know that there is no single way to build trust and rapport and there is no timeline as well. Genuinely understand your stake holder's concerns and situations and address them to the best of your ability. Give them the benefit of doubt that they are not being "Difficult" on purpose. When we operate with this understanding and empathy, trust is a guaranteed result.

In my experience if trust is being maintained and two way communication is on, this will gives a better prospect to try and solve any issue .

Trust is not only most important in building stakeholder relations, it is also most fragile, and therefore has to be actively and carefully managed. Sharing information builds trust, the more you share the more they know, and vice versa the more informed you become.

Indeed, this is key! Be transparent about where you are coming from, and why. Understand the stakeholders’ motivation. If their solution doesn’t fit with yours: be constructive with concrete alternatives, make it a win-win, just by changing stakeholders’ approach (but not objective - at least not if you really can prove them undoubtedly wrong, in a smart and not offending way).

And the best way to do that is by organising periodical face to face meetings preferably quarterly if the stakeholders are in the same city/country or atleast yearly if the engagement is more geographically spread. I may sound like a broken old record but meeting face to face is quite underrated in the digitally connected world. And that meeting may not necessarily be a specially organised one but it could be on the sidelines of any industry conference/event.

That’s how you possibly change stakeholders’ mind in the short, and how you win their trust in the long run: facts, facts, facts!

In my opinion, having a clear idea of where the value is for your stakeholders should come before any attempt to contact them. This can come at any point, and it will be key to building trust. Hard to reach stakeholders tend to be time-poor and selective, so know your benefits before any contact attempt.

When engaging with hard-to-reach stakeholders, think of providing value and benefits like offering a helpful tool rather than a sales pitch. It's important to show how your project or proposal aligns with their interests and can make their life easier or better. This means doing your homework to understand what 'value' means to them. Maybe it's saving time, reducing costs, or solving a specific problem they face. Communicate in a way that highlights these benefits, keeping it straightforward and jargon-free. It's like showing someone how a Swiss Army knife can be handy in various situations, rather than just telling them it's a cool gadget. Also, be open to feedback and willing to adjust your approach to better meet their needs.

Stakeholders are usually Business folks who have a mission to deliver on. They are potentially "Hard to Reach" for a reason. If we do not build solutions and deliverables that enable to reach their goals, they are going to be "Hard to reach" as far as you are concerned. So work on deliverables that deliver value to them and matter to them. If they are still absent, then re-evaluate your stand on the following points: 1. Who is your sponsor 2. Who is your user/consumer 3. What are you helping deliver against 4. How are you doing and how far are you from delivering your part of the equation to help If positive, then work with your sponsor to focus on your topics. If negative, change your strategy and re-prio your tasks and deliverables.

If you've nailed the previous steps then hopefully you'll have a bit of a rapport and (maybe) are starting to build a community around it. Connecting people who are useful to each other and also who enjoy each other's company is critical for any long term collaboration.

I believe it's quite a challenging task but not impossible. To get their buy-in, essentially demonstrate value, consistently and be respectful. Remember that building relationships is an ongoing process, and patience is the key, there are no shortcuts.

A critical factor that is often missed here is mutual respect. Usually, the power dynamics is a 'do to instead of a do with' the 'supposed hard to reach'. Body language, both spoken and unspoken matter and should be considered and so is the time needed to build trust.